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Frank Arthur
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Los Angeles Opera Preview: THE PEARL FISHERS (LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion)
DIVE INTO A GREAT OPERA Bizet’s most successful opera besides Carmen, The Pearl Fishers premiered as Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris (1863). London saw it at Covent Garden under the title of Leila (1887); and Italy, Pescatori di Perle (1899). The New York premiere was at the Metropolitan Opera House…
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Dance Tour Preview: MARIINSKY BALLET AND ORCHESTRA (All-Fokine program at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa)
THE MIGHTY MARIINSKY AND FABULOUS FOKINE For more than two centuries, the Mariinsky Ballet, formerly known as the Kirov, has created classical dance at its best, a tradition that continues to this day. This incredible company is coming to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for one weekend only, October 12-15, 2017, where they’ll pay tribute to…
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San Diego Theater Preview: ACCOMPLICE (Scripps Ranch Theatre)
ACCOMPLISHED ACCOMPLICE Rupert Holmes’s Accomplice is the wittiest and most accomplished fooler play since Ira Levin’s Deathtrap. Each time you think you know what is unfolding you find yourself fooled again. As with Deathtrap, I have seen Accomplice more than once, and I still get swept along on a theatrical thrill ride that rivals the twists and turns…
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Theater Review: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (North American Tour)
DETECTING LOVE A 15-year-old math whiz, Christopher is an only child with Asperger’s Syndrome. The anomaly is enough to push adolescence way beyond awkward. His autism manifests in manic multi-tasking, an inability to focus (or to lie), attention deficits, a maddening literal-mindedness, and a disarming directness that both shames and irritates adults with secrets. Afraid…
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CD Review: WAR PAINT (Original Broadway Cast on Ghostlight Records)
STAR POWER MEETS GIRL POWER The new Broadway musical War Paint centers on historical personages and rags-to-riches rivals Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, cosmetic moguls who are not incidentally female and, even less accidentally, played by Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole. Their half-century squabble, fueled by polar temperaments, marketing competition, even the men they stole from each other,…
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Broadway Theater Preview: FALSETTOS (Screening in movie theaters nationwide beginning July 12, 2017)
FALSETTOS ON THE BIG SCREEN FROM BROADWAY: EVEN UP CLOSE, THERE’S NOT A FALSE NOTE The musical masterpiece Falsettos follows Marvin, who struggles to create a tightknit family out of his eclectic array of core relationships (including his ex-wife, his new boyfriend, his adolescent son, his psychiatrist, and his neighbors (“who are lesbians from next door”)….
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Tour Preview: DAVID SEDARIS (Royce Hall at UCLA)
FINDING DAVID SEDARIS For those unfamiliar with David Sedaris’ work, he is a prolific writer, mostly of satire and non-fiction. Many of his stories revolve around his personal life and family, though–as with any great writer, and by his own admission–he does tend to embellish. His latest book, however, is a departure from his collections of…
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San Diego Theater Preview: KING RICHARD II (The Old Globe’s Lowell Davies Festival Theatre)
“For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings.” Now through July 15, 2017, Robert Sean Leonard (TV’s House, The Old Globe’s Pygmalion) returns to the Old Globe in San Diego to take on the title role of one of the greatest of Shakespeare’s towering cycle of…
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Theater Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON (National Tour reviewed at Hollywood Pantages Theatre)
FAITH IN FANTASY One of the best and certainly funniest shows of this century has returned. Beginning its latest national tour at the Hollywood Pantages last night, The Book of Mormon remains a perfectly packaged fusion of the satire our world desperately needs and a sassy musical comedy. From the wizards who concocted the all-offending South Park…
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CD Review: GROUNDHOG DAY (Original Broadway Cast on Broadway Records)
DOES GROUNDHOG DAY BEAR REPEATING? The Masterworks Broadway and Broadway Records CD of the musical adaptation of Groundhog Day may be a bit tough for some to hear over and over and over and over. Danny Rubin adapted his iconic screenplay about newscaster Phil, and how he must relive Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney until he…
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San Diego Theater Preview: THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON (The Old Globe)
OLD MAN, OLD MOON, OLD GLOBE Having seen PigPen Theatre Co.’s The Old Man and the Old Moon in Chicago, I can guarantee that gem of a theater experience will gently pluck at your heartstrings – just as it did with a successful run Off-Broadway’s Gym at Judson. Opening May 13 and running through June 18, 2017…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts)
A SUBURBAN WEST SIDE STORY Sadly, hate conquers all in West Side Story, but the love we see and feel can hold its own. Though over a half-century old, the Bernstein/Laurents/Sondheim/Robbins tour-de-force is, like its Shakespearean source, young as first love. You don’t revive it, you detonate it, as happens repeatedly in La Mirada’s mixed…
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Los Angeles Cabaret Preview: DAVID BURNHAM (Carpenter Center)
BURNHAM, BABY, BURNHAM When you first espy David Burnham on stage, his dazzling smile and chiseled looks belie the fact that he has a golden voice and boffo acting chops, both dramatic and comedic. When I first saw him in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the long-haired golden-throated tenor with teeny-bopper idol charisma stole…
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Los Angeles Theater Preview: APOCALYPSE PLAY (Moving Arts at Atwater Village Theatre)
FINAL WEEKEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD If you think the end of the world is scary, how about the end of a run of a terrific new play and you missed it? The Ovation-recommended Apocalypse Play closes up shop this weekend, and you definitely want to be around for the end. I know…
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Los Angeles Theater Photo Preview: CAROUSEL (Musical Theatre West in Long Beach)
COME RIDE THE CAROUSEL The photos are in for Musical Theatre West’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical masterpiece Carousel, which opens tonight and plays through April 9, 2017 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. Truly one of the greatest musicals ever written, Carousel explores the timeless message of message of love,…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: HALLELUJAH, BABY! (Musical Theatre Guild at the Alex Theatre in Glendale)
COME ON, BABY I wanted so badly to say “Glory, Hallelujah!” after seeing Musical Theatre Guild’s staged concert version of the 1968 Tony-winning musical. While it’s easy to forgive a lead actress who was not her usual self vocally, the spread-out staging, line screw-ups (and they’re on script!), and minuscule orchestra (five pieces!), I am…
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Los Angeles Theater Feature: FOUR BY TENN: A TENNESSEE WILLIAMS READING SERIES (The Pasadena Playhouse)
A PERFECT TENN The Pasadena Playhouse is currently presenting God Looked Away, an ode to Tennessee Williams at the end of his career. As an adjunct to this world premiere development production –which stars Al Pacino and Judith Light — the Playhouse is offering readings of four of Williams’ best plays on four consecutive Monday nights, Feb….
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Los Angeles Cabaret Preview: ANDREA MCARDLE: ’70S AND SUNNY (Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood)
GET READY FOR “TOMORROW” The sun will come out on February 13, 2017, when Andrea McArdle lands at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood with her newest cabaret show ’70’s and Sunny. Manhattan in the 1970s was a hybrid of highlights and hedonism. Overrun with sex shops and financial turmoil, the city was at…
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Los Angeles Dance Preview: JESSICA LANG DANCE (The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre)
LANG LANDS IN LA LA LAND Jessica Lang has no doubt made a name for herself in the dance world as an independent choreographer, but dance patrons in Los Angeles may find this in-demand dancemaker difficult to place. Because the majority of troupes that visit here offer programs by the company’s namesake (Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch,…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: LANG LANG (Solo Recital at Disney Hall)
LANG LANG RETURNS TO DISNEY HALL The first time I saw Chinese pianist Lang Lang perform live was at Disney Hall, and I must admit I was somewhat taken aback. For years, I had heard about LL the showman, that his ostentatious style of performing–facial mugging, speeding up passages to show off his technique–was more important…
Off-Broadway Review: MILK AND HONEY (J2 Spotlight Theatre Company at AMT, NYC)
by Rob Lester | April 17, 2026
in New York, TheaterFilm Review: BRUTE 1976 (Directed by Marcel Walz)
by Allen Tellis | April 16, 2026
in FilmCabaret Review: MARILYN MAYE (54 Below, NY)
by Rob Lester | April 16, 2026
in Cabaret, New YorkComedy Club Review: GREENPOINT COMEDY CLUB (Brooklyn)
by Alex Simmons | April 15, 2026
in Cabaret, New York, TheaterTheater Review: REVENGE OF THE SOY BOY (FRIGID New York City Fringe Festival)
by Alex Simmons | April 14, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Greater Boston Stage Company)
by Lynne Weiss | April 14, 2026
in Boston, TheaterBroadway Review: BECKY SHAW (Helen Hayes)
by Carol Rocamora | April 14, 2026
in New York, Theater
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